The Peasant and the Bear

A peasant man went into the forest to plant turnips. He cleared a plot and dug it over. Just then a bear came up to him and said:

“Man, I am going to thrash you.”

“Don’t thrash me, dear bear. You’d do better to let me plant my turnips. When they grow, we’ll share. You take the tops, but let me at least keep the roots.”

“Very well,” said the bear.

“But if you deceive me, you had better not show your

face in the forest again”.

With that he turned and went back into the thick forest.

The turnips grew large and in the autumn the peasant came with his cart to dig

them up. The bear came out of the thick forest:

“Well, man, the time has come to divide the turnips.

Give me my share.”

“All right, dear bear, let’s share: the tops for

you, the roots for me.”

The peasant gave the bear all the leafy tops, put the turnips on his cart and took them off to town to sell.

On the way he came across the bear again:

“Where are you going, man?”

“I am going to town, dear bear, to sell the roots.”

“Well, let my try one to see what it is like.”

The peasant gave him a turnip. The bear took a big bite and roared:

“Rrrrr! You have tricked me! Your roots are nice and sweet! Don’t come into

the forest for firewood or I shall thrash you!”

The next year the peasant planted rye on the same spot.

When he came to reap it, he found the bear already waiting for him:

“You won’t trick me this time, man. Give me my share.”

The peasant said:

“Very well. You take the roots, dear bear, but let me at least keep the tops.” They gathered the rye. The peasant left the bear the roots, loaded the rye onto

his cart and took it home.

The bear tried everything, but he could not find any use for the roots. He was furious with the peasant and since then there has always been hostility between bear and man.

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